Hai Phong Department of Customs: Diversified assistance to enterprises

The most urgent requirement raised by the business community is simplification of procedures and reduction in clearance time. In photo, a trader is undergoing procedures at a specialized inspection station in Hai Phong (on the opening date in 12-2015) (Photo: T. Binh)

Direct Dialogues

As one of the businesses having signed a regulatory document with Hai Phong Department of Customs on removing import and export obstacles in March 2016, Ms. Dao Thi Kim Ngan – Chairwoman of the Small and Medium sized Enterprise (SMEs) association in Hai Phong, an organization representing more than 500 enterprises, revealed that direct dialogues were step by step creating better changes in dealing with her business community’s difficulties in import and export procedures.

Ms. Dao Thi Kim Ngan shared their problems were often in need of prompt measures so that their goods could be cleared in a timely manner. When problems arise, the association meets with their members to understand the situation and bring the matters directly to the leaders of Hai Phong Department of Customs or Customs Branches for fast solutions. This helps reduce time and prevent customs officials from disturbing traders.

In addition to introducing a mechanism for receiving and handling traders’ troubles via direct dialogues, Hai Phong Customs has focused on other measures to support enterprises such as equipment investment, especially x-ray scanners for rapid clearance; assistance to traders in declaration on VNACCS/VCIS...

The biggest problem faced by traders is now the procedures of specialized inspection when they undertake import and export formalities. “In some cases, traders importing printers or sheep skins for production had to present import permits…This puts more burdens, more time and more cost, weakening their competitive capacity” said Ms. Dao Thi Kim Ngan.

She proposed concerned ministries and agencies to give their hands to Hai Phong Customs for addressing the above mentioned difficulties in importation and exportation.

Make the partnership substantial

Implementing regulations on coordination in settling the association’s difficulties has been only one of various measures for Customs – Traders partnership development at Hai Phong Department of Customs.

Leaders of Hai Phong Department of Customs informed that they are particularly concerned about the essential benefits of traders such as procedure simplification and minimized clearance time besides promotional activities and publication of new policies, legal texts, procedures and regulations on importation and exportation. The two current issues being concentrated on by Hai Phong Customs are to enhance the specialized inspection stations’ efficiency and coordinate with the business community to supervise imports and exports.

For specialized inspection stations, despite the fact that plenty of work is waiting, significant achievements in shortening time of dossier examination, sampling and testing have been made.

With regard to implementing of Article 41 of the Law on Customs of coordination between Customs and port businesses in goods supervision, on August 8th, in an exchange with a Customs News reporter, a leader of the Center of Data and Information Technology under Hai Phong Department of Customs said that there had been 5 ports connecting supervision with Customs: Hai An, Green Port, Nam Hai, Transvina and Dinh Vu Port Investment and Development Join Stock Company. Besides, Hai Phong Customs took a survey of 23 port and warehouse businesses to understand more about the feasibility of coordination in imports and exports supervision. Basing on actual operation by the businesses, Hai Phong Customs made a plan to link with 9 more ports by the end of this year. Therefore, the total number of important container ports in Hai Phong would have connected with Customs.

As the first enterprise in Hai Phong and nationwide performing the coordination regulations with Hai Phong Customs, Mr. Cao Hong Phong, Deputy Director General of Dinh Vu Port Investment and Development Join Stock Company assessed that this coordination had proved its efficiency in reality. Mr. Cao Hong Phong said the coordination between Customs and Traders in goods supervision had smoothly taken place since the end of September, 2015. The coordination helped quickly clear goods, bringing more advantages for importation and exportation through Nam Hai Dinh Vu port. The fact that Customs worked together with port businesses helped importers and exporters promptly remove difficulties. This was the important factor to raise port businesses’ competition capacity. Currently, most of containers importing and exporting via Nam Hai Dinh Vu seaport are supervised by both Customs and enterprises.

Mr. Cao Hong Phong added that stability of data transferring lines must be ensured to support online coordinated supervision in the internet. Moreover, training activities extended to customs officials and traders should be conducted in a professional manner so that errors or mistakes in implementation would be minimized…